The Navy taught Bob Robbins about responsibility and accountability.
He now uses those lessons every day as a civilian helping to grow promising new startups.
Chicago online beverage marketplace startup Provi recently brought in Robbins as the company's new president and chief operating officer. He will report directly to Provi's founder and CEO Taylor Katzman and oversee the company's day-to-day operations and long-term growth.
After serving as a U.S. Navy lieutenant aviator for eight years, Robbins worked at McKinsey & Co. where he consulted on strategic planning for companies within the alcoholic beverage industry. He later served in executive and leadership roles at Juul Labs, where he saw the team grow from 12 to 1,150, Constellation Brands and Beam Suntory.
Robbins said that anybody who wants to work in startups needs to be comfortable with a certain level of responsibility and accountability that will escalate as you find success.
"The nice thing about working at a startup is that you're not going to an organization where there's legacy problems," Robbins said. "If there are problems, there's nobody to blame but yourself so there's no question with accountability. If you're in a tough situation and under-resourced, you just have to figure it out, and I think that's a very military can-do type of attitude."
His first division with the Navy had around 35 aircraft engine mechanics who were in charge of the aircraft engine mechanics for the squadron, so if an aircraft went down and was not operationally capable because of an engine issue, it was his job to address it.
"I had to be a pilot and had to run that division as quality assurance officer," he said. "My second squadron was just a more senior position. It's like that in the civilian world too. You just have escalating levels of responsibility, and the military teaches you how to deal with that."
